The Enemy of the Newbie
by battleshipxx101
Summary: When a pompous former staffer returns to the White House, chaos ensues and Emily Rhodes is suddenly on the receiving end of his harsh verbal attacks as he questions her competence as Chief of Staff. Emily's spirits are greatly disheartened, but this visitor soon learns the hard way that messing with Emily Rhodes was a big, big mistake in this House. / Emron fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello there! I just recently finished the first season of DS and what can I say, I can't watch a series without picking up at least one ship. Sigh. And because I couldn't stop thinking about it, here's an Emily/Aaron fic for your souls. It's been years since I published anything new here, so please be gentle. Also, I've been brewing some other ideas for Emron fics but I'm not sure yet as to where they're headed so I guess we'll see if they end up here soon!  
**

 **Enjoy this for now and thank you in advance for reading. :D**

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Chapter 1: The Enemy

"Okay, what the hell is your problem!?"

It was probably extremely unprofessional for the Chief of Staff of the President of the Unites States to say that, but Emily Rhodes was sick of this. She tried as hard as she could to maintain her patience around this guy but today, that patience had run out.

She slammed the binder she had in her arms on the wooden table in front of her and turned to face the smug-faced man before her. Just minutes ago, they were both kicked out of the Oval Office for arguing in front of POTUS.

 _"ALRIGHT! That's enough! You two sort this out somewhere else now. I have neither the time nor the patience to deal with you both!"_ were President Kirkman's words earlier. They had just spent fifteen minutes screaming over one another, arguing over which audience the President should prioritize in the next town hall invitation.

But determined as though Emily was, the man standing in front of her unfortunately was as well. "You need to stand down, Emily. You know my call was the right one and you can't accept that." He said with an air of arrogance that seemed inseparable from this character.

"Fred," she exclaimed. "The kids from those different schools and homes need this town hall. The group of retirees you're arguing for doesn't! Their concerns have been addressed in the previous town hall and having them here again is a waste of time. Those kids have legitimate immediate concerns about how the state of their education and housing are." She walked towards the receiving area of her office and crossed her arms across her chest.

"They're kids, Emily. Some philanthropist next door can probably pick up on those issues. I get that you don't see that because you're new to this job–"

"New to this job!? I've been doing this for months now while you've been where exactly?" She demanded.

Fred Asterick was a jerkface bastard who came to the White House one day with what seemed to Emily like a plan to turn things upside down. He was supposedly a young yet esteemed staffer from President Richmond's administration, but for some vague reason, he only resurfaced to offer his "expertise" on White House affairs a little more than week ago. And since then, Emily had been on edge because of him and his habit of imposing on her, her staff, and her work.

"We've been over this, Ms. Rhodes. I'm not going to discuss it again. What I want to discuss is why you were handed this job when you clearly aren't fit for it." His face looked down on her and the edge on his voice was making her blood boil inside of her.

"And no, don't you tell me that you're doing just fine in your position. If you were, then POTUS would be halfway around the world signing that agreement with Vietnam. If you were, Governor Dencel wouldn't be rejecting POTUS's orders about police activity in his state. If you were, then I wouldn't be here correcting your damn mistakes in this job! If you were really competent enough to handle the position so gracefully handed to you, then this House would see it!"

Emily blinked and her arms dropped beside her sometime in the middle of his words. Her eyes were stinging and her head was throbbing but she wasn't going to shed any tear in front of this jerk. She became aware that her perfect cuticles were now puncturing her smooth palms.

When she opened her mouth to speak again, her tone was dangerously quiet. "Asterick, you act like you know everything that's been going on in this House, but you don't. Because while we were putting out the flames of the explosion, you were busy having your ass wiped for you on your cruise ship. And I'm not here to prove to you that I'm worthy of this job because if you really cared about serving the President and his people, then you wouldn't waste a second slowing us down with your useless inputs and antics. But then again, you're the one here that was never fit to serve the public no matter what your name once meant to this House."

There was silence for a few moments and Emily suddenly became aware that someone was standing by the doorway of her office looking both pissed and worried.

"Mr. Asterick, I think you should leave." The man at the door said, stepping inside and standing by Emily's left.

"I was just about to, Mr. Wright." Fred said with finality, moving to walk out the door and close it behind him. Within seconds, Emily collapsed on the nearest leather sofa, head in her hands and elbows on her knees.

"Think he was glad I was here to send him out. Two more seconds and he would have run away whimpering." Seth said in a lighter tone, peering down on his friend.

"You should have waited two more seconds then." She mumbled in reply, before raising her head up and straightening on her seat. "He's an arrogant, pompous bastard and I hate him."

"Hey, don't worry about it alright? POTUS trusts you more than any of us. And I know it's your insights he considers more than Asterick's." Seth laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "Plus, I think even _he_ is annoyed of Asterick so I won't be surprised if tomorrow we don't hear from him ever again."

Emily looked at him and deadpanned, "Don't give me empty promises, Seth."

* * *

Something was up.

Aaron tore his stare from the petite figure sitting at the corner of the table across him, to look at Seth who was two seats away from the brunette.

Seth's eyes looked back at him with a knowing expression. Aaron could tell he wanted to spill. Carefully, he brought out his phone from his pocket and typed a message underneath the table.

 _What's going on w/ Emily?_

The conference had already lasted for more than an hour and so far Emily had barely talked more than necessary. She didn't engage in discussion as much as he expected and when she did, her responses were short and clipped. She avoided looking anywhere but on her file folder and notebook as much as she could. Aaron speculated whether the hour was taking a toll on her already, given that it was nearing 8 in the evening and he knew none of them had eaten dinner yet to give way to this meeting. But no, this wasn't just exhaustion.

Something was bothering her.

 _Long story. We need 2 talk. Asterick is trouble._ came Seth's reply.

Aaron's eyebrows furrowed.

 _Asterick?_

Immediately his eyes landed on the devil himself who was a seat away from Seth, looking a little too please with himself. For what reason, Aaron wasn't sure.

Just then he glanced back at Emily who was now looking back at him with serious but sad eyes. He knew his worry was reflected on his face but she wasn't responding to it, wasn't giving him any indication to reassure him she was fine.

 _What the hell happened?_

* * *

As soon as the meeting ended, Seth and Aaron occupied the corner of the room, and they waited until most of the people were out before proceeding with the explanation. Seth took up the next five minutes discreetly relaying to his friend what he heard that morning as he was on the way to Emily's office, and what he witnessed as soon as he stepped foot inside and made his presence known.

Aaron felt his insides twist in anger that he was surprised he hadn't stormed out yet to beat Fred Asterick to a pulp right there and then.

"He said what!?" He demanded, even though he clearly heard every word that came out of Seth's mouth. "That son of a bitch! That's why Emily's been so damn distant? That's why she's been shutting everyone out? Because of that asshole!?"

"Hey! I'm as furious as you are but we can't be having an internal crisis right now." Seth pointed out.

He was right. Aaron knew the White House was no place to foster this conflict now. But at the same time, he knew he wasn't going to stand idly by if someone like Asterick was causing so much trouble to the House. He hadn't given it much thought yet with everything else going on, but it now made sense why everyone seemed to be on edge because of their new visitor and his "strong suggestions." It wasn't just Emily. It was the whole West Wing.

"Fine," Aaron huffed in frustration. "We'll get rid of the crisis."

"What are you saying?" Seth asked cautiously, eyes narrowing to read his co-worker's expression.

"Fred Asterick won't be entering the White House after tonight," Aaron declared, straightening his suit and looking ahead. "I'll handle it."

* * *

Aaron bolted through the door as soon as his conversation with Seth ended. He didn't care that people were starting to stare as he turned hallway after hallway looking like he was about to murder someone. At this rate, he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't. When he stepped onto the corridor that led to the upper floors where the guest rooms were, he spotted the culprit walking towards the stairs.

"Mr. Asterick," he called from the end of the hall. Fred Asterick turned around and flashed Aaron a smile that came with a curious look.

"Aaron! I was just heading up to my room upsta-"

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" His voice caught the attention of the few Secret Service agents passing by. He had reached Fred and was now a meter away from him.

"Excuse me?" Fred's cheerful vibe dropped and he had the nerve to look insulted.

Aaron didn't care. He had a lot to say and he was going to say it.

"Look, if you had that big of a problem with the White House Chief of Staff, you could have taken it with the President himself, instead of personally attacking the person he hired for that job!"

Fred looked to the floor as he collected his thoughts. When he looked up, his face carried a cocky grin but there was no humor to it.

"I see she's told you about our conversation this morning, huh?"

"She didn't tell me anything! That's how much of a decent person she is. You, however, are the complete opposite." Aaron could feel his anger rising in this chest. "How dare you!? How dare you question her abilities as Chief of Staff!? You!? Who only appeared here a mere nine days ago without any clue on what has been going on in this House for the past four months? You showed up here to be nothing but a burden to everyone."

Fred rested his hands on his hips and his forehead crunched. He looked equally angry now.

"Listen here, Shore. We've known each other for a while now before this whole ordeal. You know I don't like the new ones being handed the jobs that are meant for serious, more competent people! Not your Ms. Rhodes. And especially not your President," he spat.

The flame of rage inside Aaron flared. His words were now coming out through gritted teeth.

"She never asked for this! When are you gonna wrap your head around that!? Emily Rhodes didn't ask to be in this position! Neither she nor Kirkman asked that they be thrown into the war zone when all hell broke loose! Kirkman was appointed and he accepted the toughest task in the world and so did Emily Rhodes. The Secretary of HUD became President overnight and she was forced to follow him, despite knowing her life would be a thousand times more difficult once she did. She wasn't entitled, she was brave for choosing to stay."

"Shore, I get it," Fred replied, holding up a hand. "You like her around. But don't act like she lays golden eggs. She's not special." Fred shrugged at him and Aaron wanted nothing more than to punch his face.

"How the hell would you know!? You've been around for nine days, Asterick. And not once did you make an effort to see how this House was doing under her supervision. Emily Rhodes runs this House like no one else and you are an idiot for not seeing that!"

Unbeknownst to both of them, a certain brunette was now pushing herself off of the corner cream wall which she had been glued to for the past few minutes, listening to the not-so-discreet confrontation she stumbled upon. As she hurriedly walked away from that corridor, tears formed in her eyes and she started walking faster with her head down.

Meanwhile, across Aaron, Fred let out a humorless laugh. "Don't tell me she's got you wrapped around her finger as well. I grant you, she's pretty

—"

That was when Aaron surged forward and pushed Asterick's shoulders hard with both his hands. Asterick lost his balance and stumbled backwards. A couple of Secret Service agents started to move towards them.

Aaron stepped forward again and said in a dangerously low tone, "You better get the hell out of here now and never show you face again because the next time you say something like that, you won't be walking away freely."

Asterick raised his two palms up in show of his surrender. He slowly backed off from Aaron as the two agents reached them.

"Do we have a problem here, Mr. Shore?" Clearly, they knew who held more authority around here.

"No," Aaron answered, not taking his glare off of Asterick. "Mr. Asterick was just leaving the White House."

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 **A/N: Chapter two coming up in a while! Thanks for making it this far into the fic. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hellooo! I'm back with the second and final chapter and if you're reading this, I already am very grateful that you're actually here. Special thanks to all those who left reviews on the first chapter. I appreciate all the insights so much!**

 **Anyway, here's the second part of the fic and I hope you enjoy it! :D**

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Chapter 2: IOU

She loved the White House at night. And as Chief of Staff, she usually got to see it on a daily basis when her work piled over-which was almost always. When the hours reached into the dark night, most of the staffers were already gone and the House became a quiet, peaceful space for thinking.

Tonight, Emily Rhodes had a lot to think about, which was why she sat at the edge of the White House landing. Her feet were firmly planted on the ground and her eyes stared into the dimly lit garden by the small fountain. She wasn't far from her office so this little place of hers was incredibly convenient for unloading some steam from time to time. Not many agents rounded this spot luckily, giving her the solitude she needed at the moment.

Out of nowhere, Emily felt something smooth and heavy coming into contact with her shoulders and wrapping her in warmth. She turned to her left with curious eyes and saw an all too familiar tall figure crouching down to sit beside her.

 _Of course he'd find me._

Emily adjusted the coat around her shoulders so it didn't fall from her tiny frame. She was grateful for the warmth it offered. Her sleeveless dress today was undoubtedly gorgeous in every way but even she admitted it wasn't the best outfit for a cold night.

The two of them sat in silence for a while before Emily finally spoke.

"Thank you," she whispered as she turned towards Aaron. "For what you did back there."

Their shoulders brushed against each other and Emily resisted the urge to lean closer to him and tuck herself under his arm. She was exhausted from the day's work as well as the heaviness that dragged her spirits down. But at this point, maybe—just maybe—things could still turn around.

"You heard that?" He wondered, glancing once towards her direction.

"I was going to speak with Brenda in the lounge when...when I heard you in the next hallway. Sounded pretty angry and I was—"

"Eavesdropping?" He teased as he sported an easy grin.

"Concerned," she finished with an adamant tone before recoiling. "And yes, eavesdropping."

A soft chuckle came from Aaron's lips creating a trace of mist from his breath.

"But yeah, thank you." Emily turned to look at him with a firm gaze, finding herself momentarily lost in the eyes that were intently staring back at her. When he looked away, Aaron spoke in a soft voice.

"Look, I know it isn't easy to be in this job and not many people will get that. People will talk and they _will_ keep talking. About you, about Kirkman, about everything that happened after the bombing. I know you already know that, but if you need to talk about it, I'm always here. Seth too." He paused before pointing out in a lighter tone, "Heck, I'm pretty sure POTUS and FLOTUS too, and how great is that, huh?"

Her face cracked a small smile.

"The point is, whatever it is, big or small, we're here for you when you need us."

Emily felt him studying her face. She wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure how. She didn't want to prove Asterick right by being unable to pull herself together. She wondered whether saying her thoughts out loud was a sign of strength or weakness. She wanted to get it out of her system, but it wasn't that easy. She was never the type to open up about these things. She was the type to listen, not talk.

"Hey, I know something's bothering you but you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, okay?" Aaron reassured her, as if he heard her thoughts. "You do you. And I won't ever take it against you."

The gentle reminder did more to ease her nerves. She appreciated how patient he was being and somehow…she knew that no matter what she felt like doing, he was going to go with it. Whether she told him she wanted to talk about something else or that she wanted to be alone, she felt at ease saying it to him, knowing he would understand. And for that very reason, she decided to bite the bullet and let him in.

"It's just…the funny thing about what Asterick said is, I wonder that myself, you know? Why I'm even here. Why I haven't left this job yet. Why I didn't just ask for something else instead. Everything he said...it's everything I think about at night. I've done a good job ignoring it when it's just me talking but I knew one day someone else was going to point it out to my face. And it sure hurt like hell, you know? And it just...it just made me wonder if he's right."

She thought back to that morning's confrontation with Asterick. Sure, Emily gave herself credit for not losing face to that guy and for coming up with a solid response to his words. But deep down, she only had _that_ much to strike back with, and if Seth hadn't interrupted them when he did, she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle more.

"Emily Rhodes, why did you compete with me for Office of Chief of Staff the very first week you were here?" He asked with a challenging tone. Their eyes met and she knew they were both remembering that time when they used to rip each other's heads off at the mention of the vacant position.

Her eyes narrowed, but the corners of her face were forcibly trying to hide a smile. "So I would have a reason to say no to my boyfriend's proposal then?"

It wasn't at all what Aaron was expecting to hear from her, and upon seeing how taken aback he was, Emily let out a real, hearty laugh.

"Okay," he said, shaking his head amusedly. "Aside from that obvious reason."

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she started to think about his question. It took a couple moments before she finally said, "I saw that the world people were waking up to that day was in absolute, uncontrolled chaos. They were waking up with fear and uncertainty. And the man I worked for all these years is suddenly someone who can help fix that chaos and counter that fear. And I suddenly had the chance to get to the frontlines and help him do just that. It was crazy as hell but I knew I wouldn't have been happier elsewhere. I wouldn't be happier doing something else than following that man who was going to be serving the rest of the world."

Now that she said it out loud, her ruined morning seemed so long ago and Asterick's words so far away. Her body felt warm and comfortable, and her head didn't ache anymore from overthinking. Beside her, Aaron was wearing a small smile as he looked at her.

"That, Ms. Rhodes, is the only voice you need to listen to when everyone else starts talking." He told her. "I meant what I told Asterick. You run this House like no one else. And I know the people whose opinion matters, sees it. Your staff? They see it. Guests. POTUS. This House knows it. They believe in you. You need to believe in you, too."

 _I need you to be you.._

Tom Kirkman's words rung out to her once more. That was what he told her when he appointed her as Special Advisor. While it stung the first time he said it because she wasn't sure if that meant that being her wasn't enough to land her the position of Chief of Staff then, she knew now what he really meant.

Forget the job title. Forget the formalities. Kirkman just wanted an Emily Rhodes in this House. That was enough.

 _She was enough._

That was the reminder she needed to seal this day off.

"Yeah," She replied, the faintest of smiles showing on her face. "You're right."

Aaron winked at her and Emily grinned back at him. They seemed to have reached a common understanding without saying it out loud because the next second, Aaron lifted his arm up and Emily scooted closer to him.

"So, what did happen when you said to no Mr. Post-Disaster Acceleration?" He asked, glancing at Emily.

Emily shook her head furiously. "Uh uh. No way are you getting more out of me tonight, Shore. I'm emotionally vulnerable but I'm not _that_ vulnerable."

He laughed beside her and Emily felt each rise and fall of his chest.

"Just curious is all." He reasoned with a sly grin on his face.

Emily reached up to facepalm herself. "Ugh. Can we not discuss the failed marriage proposal right now?" She paused for a while, head in her palm and internally cringing. And yet, she mumbled, "We broke up shortly after I took the job here."

"Weakling," Aaron scoffed.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, looking up at him. She noticed for the first time that at the end of the day, his slicked back hair was starting to revert to its original curly state and she wondered for a moment how he looked like without the hair styling. "In case you forgot, you kissed me after that, so you should be nice to guy for leaving. Otherwise, that kiss wouldn't have happened."

"I'm pretty sure you kissed me."

"No, it was the other way around."

"No, it wasn't."

"You told me to believe in me so I do. I think you kissed me." Emily mentally high-fived herself for that comeback.

"Wow, I give you great advice and it backfires on me so soon?" He said in a jokingly hurt tone.

She stared at him, watching his every expression and studying the features on his face as he tried to build up his arguments against her.

"I mean, technically speaking, we were a little drunk that night, correct? So that means our individual recollections of that night would naturally be—"

"Aaron," she interrupted. "Shut up and kiss me."

That shut him up. And Emily was leaning forward when she heard his voice respond with, "No."

Her confusion took over and for a second she felt embarrassed at the attempt.

"Only because you're _emotionally vulnerable_ right now." He continued, leaving her with her mouth hanging in shock and amusement. She used his words against him and now he was using hers.

Emily groaned against his shoulder. "You choose right _now_ to be a gentleman!? You're impossible."

"Hey! I'm always a gentleman." He pointed out. "Which is why I'll issue you an IOU for now, for that request. But tonight, sorry, can't take advantage of this vulnerable state."

* * *

After minutes of more bickering later, Aaron felt Emily sagging beside him, betraying her exhaustion. Her voice was slowly dragging into semi-coherent mumbles and Aaron decided to call it a night.

"Come on, I'll drive you home." He said, pulling her up from their spot.

"No, no, it's fine...I'm-" The latter part of her response was swallowed in her yawn. "Okay fine, I'm beat."

* * *

As they drove through the quiet streets of Washington, Emily was passed out on the passenger seat. Aaron promptly turned down the radio as he drove straight to her apartment. Within a few minutes he was double parking in front of her apartment building and turning off the engine.

"Hey," he leaned across and gently nudged her awake.

Emily blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She looked around and spotted her building outside the window.

"I can't thank you enough, Aaron." She said, glancing towards him. "For tonight."

"There's no need." He assured her with a small smile. "You should get some rest."

"Okay," Emily answered as she opened the door and stepped out of the car. She was already wistfully thinking about the large bed that was waiting for her at the third floor of her building but she decided to hold it off for another minute and leaned back down on the open window of Aaron's car.

"Don't forget you still owe me that IOU." Her eyes glinted and the corners of her mouth formed a teasing grin.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He responded without missing a beat. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Rhodes."

"See you, Mr. Shore."

* * *

The next morning, Emily found a large coffee cup on her desk as well as a breakfast sandwich from her favorite cafe. Smiling to herself, she picked up the white paper bag when she noticed the messy scribble on the side.

"Dinner tonight? ~A"

Emily's lips pressed into a thin smile. _No rainchecks this time,_ she thought to herself.

That night, she claimed her IOU.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay so I still am looking for direction for the other Emron fic prompts, but if you have anything to suggest or tell me about, hit me up via Reviews or PM! Would love to hear from the population of shippers here! :D**

 **Thanks for reading! I hope your Emron hearts will find happiness. 3**


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